I went out to dinner at Peony's on 2/4/12 because I had a good experience with lunch there some months ago.
This dinner visit was a disappointment.
First, it was busy.
Second, I decided to order off the menu rather than have the buffet, which was a mistake when they are busy.
Third, I tried something different.

I ordered the steamed sole, and asked what it came with. It only comes with white rice, so the waitress recommended some kind of chicken kebob appetizer, and some tea. The app was okay and came with a sauce. It's pretty much finger food. After waiting for 30 minutes, the waitress returned and apologized for the delay and subtly hinted that I could change my order if I wished. I failed to pick up on the hint and, since I was in no hurry, I decided to wait. The tea, by the way, was served unusually. It looked as if they threw some herbs or something in the pot just before bringing it to me, and it took a long time to steep before it tasted like anything except hot water.

About 15 minutes later, a woman that I assumed was a manager came over to my table and apologized again for the delay. She said I was getting a free chicken fried rice because it was taking so long. That wasn't really true, and they brought the fried rice the same time as the fish came, so I had to let it get cold.

The fish was served in an odd way. It was half of a fish that was crudely filleted, and they served the half with the bones in it. It looked big, but sole is a flat fish and there was not a lot of fish there beyond the bones. I was not really sure if was sole; it looked like flounder from the skin, which was left on. Beyond sprinkling some kind of grass-like herb over the top after cooking, there was no effort to season the steamed fish. Removing the fish from the spine resulted in a lot of fine bones being mixed in with the fish. There was also a fair amount of fish left on the other side of the spine, which further led to me believe that the person who filleted it had little idea what they were doing. There was virtually no way to eat the fish on the other side without consuming almost as much bones as fish. This is a very stupid way to prepare this dish. It was the least flavorful fish that I have ever had. There was some kind of sauce on the plate, but not on the fish, and they cook was very stingy with it.

I mixed the fish that I pulled off the spine with the white rice, which was not basmati, and tasted as if it had been cooked in an odd kind of stock. Then I ate the chicken fried rice, which had become cold during the ordeal of trying to remove the sole from it's bones. It was adequate, but not great, and the chicken was cut into strips rather than smaller pieces.

When the check came, I discovered that the chicken fried rice was not, as I had been told, free. It was nearly $7. The tea was at least $2, and it was not on the menu. No beverages at all are on the menu, except for dessert drinks.

So, I was unimpressed with the food and the service. Maybe the buffet is better. Still, they have a lot of competition very close by: a Chinese restaurant and an Indian restaurant in the same strip mall, an American restaurant across the street, and a Chili's within 150 feet. If Peony's is really just going to be a buffet place rather than a real Thai/Malaysian restaurant, then they should just go with that and drop the menu.

Of course, I could have complained. What good would that have done, though? Would they really remove the spine and season the fish? No, and it would probably be worse that way when all of the bones were mixed in. They were busy when I paid my check, so I didn't want to wait around to make an issue over the "free" chicken fried rice. The waitress had no idea that I had been promised a free dish, and the manager was not in sight.